Xbox One Can Do "Nothing" Without Day One Update

We've known for a while that both next-generation systems, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One, will have hefty day one updates in order to add many system features. On the PlayStation 4, the 300MB update includes Vita Remote Play, always-on game recording, game broadcasting, voice chat, online multiplayer, and Blu-Ray/DVD player functionality. But even without the update, the PlayStation 4 can play a game right out of the box.

On the Xbox One? You can do absolutely nothing. Microsoft senior director of product management Albert Penello told Engadget that the update was required to get the Xbox One to do anything.

"Nothing. You need the Day One update," said Penello when asked which features would be available on the Xbox One right out of the box. "A lot of the apps come with the day one update because they wouldn't have even been done. You're gonna need to take this update. It's not gonna be really an optional thing."

The reason for these day one patches is both companies are working on their respective system OSes right up until launch. Sony has made sure at least games will play, but Microsoft's system seems to be keeping everything together in the dashboard. The company is touting the ability to switch between all content on the fly - as shown in a recent video - but that also means game playing is tied to a number of other services. After that first patch, that could be an awesome experience, but it presents an issue for gamers in situations with poor internet, like active-duty military.

Patches have become a big part of our gaming culture as we move towards a digital future. There are very few games I've reviewed in the past few months haven't had a patch as soon as I put the game in the system. So, is this really huge problem for Microsoft, or just business as usual for players?

Observant people should have seen this coming since the console was first revealed. The Xbox One was originally designed to be useless offline, and when that went over like a lead balloon, Microsoft announced that they would fix it via a day one patch. So until the console is patched, its going to behave exactly as it was originally intended to.

This, hopefully, only concerns us early adopters. The 3rd or 4th wave (and all waves after) of XBOs will have that update and it will play games out of the box. This "issue" will be a distant memory. In years to come you'll all reminisce how hard you had it at the launch of XBO.Edited November 2013 by Unknown

Huge problem? No. A problem that will be fixed with subsequent productions? Probably. But man, for that small minority of gamers who don't always have internet access, or with severely limited bandwidth... that really sucks.

If Sony and Microsoft are smart they'll give people the ability to download the update on a PC onto a memory stick or something and stick that into the console like you can with PS3 updates. MS should also have the update included on the disc of a popular launch window game like Titanfall.

@renatocosta90 I support your post. How do I kickstarter/Steam Preview it?@GustinHardy As I recall, on PS4 you can download the update to your PC and manually install it. Although, DVD/Bluray playback aside, all those features are online focused anyway, so if the patch is having trouble downloading, most those features aren't going to be functional anyway.Edited November 2013 by Unknown

@TPoppaPuff Well, I do think that live, ongoing updates are amazing. As a software developer, being able to add to an application without prompting the user to download the installer again is amazing, though it has been a trend to deliver games (and software) with bugs that would be pretty unthinkable for the previous generations, for an array of reasons, I guess.

In the end, it is a little bit of bitterness and nostalgia that prompts me to get to the internet to rant about things I can't change and don't really like seeing happening :D

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